“Nothing has changed much. It's neither good nor bad” – Supreme Court (BAGATS) ruling on Ukrainians in Israel

This week, the Israeli Supreme Court considered the issue of the continued presence of Ukrainian refugees in the country, in particular their status – see “Ukrainian citizens in Israel will receive refugee rights, while retaining tourist visas” – High Court ruling.

Israel Portal “Details” (ukr) August 8, 2024 spoke with Zoya Levitinaan employee of the American Jewish humanitarian organization HIAS, to clarify the situation.

“The story began several months ago,” Zoya said. “The district court, chaired by Judge Agmon Gonen, ruled that all Ukrainians have the right to receive a 2A5 visa, meaning they can change their status from tourist (B2 visa, issued for 3-6 months) to asylum seeker status.

I will say right away that in Israel, only a few dozen people have received refugee status in the entire history. 2A5 is not a refugee visa, it is a temporary status, when a person's case is reviewed by the state, and it is decided whether he meets the criteria of a “refugee”. During this time, he can work freely, and so on.

The state appealed the district court's decision. Let's just say this is not the first time this judge and the state have disagreed. Let me remind you that it was she who, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, ensured that Ukrainians could not be expelled from the country for 48 hours, and during this time they could receive legal assistance.”

HIAS attorney Nimrod Avigal added in an interview with Details:

“The court supported the state’s position for purely technical reasons, not on the merits of the matter.

As a result, those who already had a B2 visa will remain with a B2 visa..

Those who do not have anything yet can get a 2A5 visa.

None of these visas grants a person full rights in Israel.they just mean that you are here legally, although you can work with both visasand the state will simply “turn a blind eye” to this issue.

That is, in essence, Nothing much has changed. It's neither good nor bad..

To make things “good”, Ukrainians need to be provided with a B1 visa (official work permit). We have contacted the Ministry of Internal Affairs about this, we are currently collecting information about the difficulties Ukrainians face in Israel, and we will raise this issue again.

The state, in turn, promised to study this issue closer to the end of the year.”

source – https://ua.detaly.co.il/rishennya-verhovnogo-sudu-shhodo-ukrayintsiv-v-izrayili-dobre-chy-pogano/

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